


ATP: A Winter's Tale

by Rooh



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-16
Updated: 2018-07-23
Packaged: 2018-09-18 00:20:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9353726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rooh/pseuds/Rooh
Summary: A story of adventure, romance, love - Liam finds a new life, a new home, a new way of thinking, a new community, and new love.





	1. Love Lost

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [ATP](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/256898) by Umari Moon. 



> Hi everyone! It's been a weird, troubling year for the world and I want to start the new year off in a positive way. I'm starting a new series that I think you will enjoy, especially if you like my previous work.
> 
> I'm known to write in small chunks, and I was tempted to do what I usually do here, just pasting chapters as I produce them. However, I knew this story would be longer than those I typically write, and I didn't want you guys to have to wait several chapters to get an idea of what was going to happen, so I decided to hold off until I had a few of them done.
> 
> That being said, the initial release won't introduce the main female character just yet. I wanted to point that out so that people don't get the wrong idea about characters.
> 
> I want to invite everyone to comment and/or message me. I will respond to all of them, as long as I am an active writer here. Also, if you have some glaceon art you wouldn't mind letting me use, I don't have any cover art prepared for this story yet. Please message me if you can provide some.
> 
> This series is based off Umari's ATP story and takes place in his universe, with his permission. You can find it on ffnet by searching for ATP in story name and I invite you to read his work and support him as well. I want to thank him. His story was the inspiration I needed to get back into writing and I'm very grateful for that and for his permissions.
> 
> I also want to thank my editor and proofreader, Cobaltbluesphere for taking the time and energy to improve these chapters and for being a great friend.
> 
> As with the original ATP story, there is no speech barrier.
> 
> Enjoy folks!

After hearing a message tone in the background of the music, Liam looked away from the game on his computer screen at the cellphone on his desk. An LED briefly lit up, indicating he did indeed have a message waiting for him. He took off his headset and placed it on the desk before grabbing the phone and leaning back in the desk chair, which made an audible squeak. He opened the messaging app and saw that the text was from his best friend, Erik.

_Hey bud. Need to talk to u. U free tomorrow for lunch? It'll be on me_

Liam did a quick mental check of his work schedule, remembered he had the next two days off, and sent his reply.

_Hey. Ya Im free. Sure, where u wanna go?_

_How about that sushi place downtown_

Liam paused and scowled a bit. Sushi wasn't exactly his favorite food. He could eat a few pieces, sure, but he didn't consider it to be a meal. He decided not to dismiss the idea outright but see if he could work around it.

_Do they have other things there or just sushi? Not really my thing. Don't mind going if they've got like noodles or something too_

_They do. They've got a buffet table with fried rice and soups and I think they've got noodle dishes too. We can go somewhere else if u want tho_

_No that's cool. When do you wanna meet?_

_Noon work for u?_

_Yep see u then_

Liam's chair squeaked again as he set the phone back down and sat back with his hands resting behind his head and his feet propped up on the computer sitting on the floor. He thought it was odd behavior from Erik. It wasn't often that they would go out to eat somewhere. They hung out every now and then but it was usually to drink a few beers, smoke a bowl, and play videogames or watch stupid youtube videos at Erik's place.

The two had been friends since high school, but the growing responsibilities that came with being a young adult had caused them to drift apart somewhat. . They came from families on opposite ends of the wealth spectrum, which was fairly common in their small city. You were either lucky enough to be very wealthy and work with your family who owned one of the few big businesses or you were poor and working for the rich. There were not many people who fell in the middle and the gap between the two had been growing worse every year.

Erik's family worked in the local hospital. With his family easily able to to pay for it, he had just finished university and was looking to enter the next stage of school, working towards becoming a doctor, himself. He was married and was looking at a great life ahead of him filled with comfort and luxury.

Liam was on the other end. He made enough working in the security department of the hospital to afford his own small apartment and a modest living, but not enough to finish school beyond community college. He had a girlfriend he met there, Clara, who was one of the few who could be considered middle-class. The two had been in a stable relationship for a few years now.

He figured this was probably Erik announcing that he'd be moving away. Liam had expected this for a while now, as this small town could only take someone so far. The loss of a good friend would hurt for a while, but such is life. He'd find a way to cope, maybe try to find a new friend to spend time with, and perhaps he'd be able to visit a couple times a year. With this in mind, he sighed and went back to his video game.

After finding a parking spot for his car, Liam got out and walked down the sidewalk toward the restaurant. Like the other buildings surrounding it, the sushi place was in an old brick building. It almost looked like it could have been modeled after 50's architecture, but perhaps it really was that old and had simply stood the test of time. The doors, windows, and all the signage were brand new though and very fancy.

Liam pushed the glass door open, to an audible chime, and was greeted by a smiling girl behind the podium. The inside was decorated in Sinnohan art and music. Several aquariums filled with small water-type pokémon native to that region could be seen in the restaurant, with one large one in the center as you walked in. It was held up on the back of a dewgong statue. The place looked expensive, like a place businessmen would take clients, and he felt slightly out of place. Maybe he should have dressed up more.

The hostess quickly welcomed him, "Hi, are you here by yourself?"

"No, I'm here with a friend."

He looked around and quickly found Erik, dressed in a button down shirt and dress pants, at a table near the back, who also spotted Liam and got up, hurrying over to meet him.

"Hey Liam! Good to see you, bud. I've already paid for us." He turned to the hostess. "Ma'am, this is the friend I was waiting for."

The hostess smiled and welcomed them again, telling them to enjoy themselves and let her know if they needed any help and then returned to her other duties. The two walked back to the table Erik had saved, past a few other well-dressed customers. Neither Erik nor the hostess had mentioned his clothes, so he decided to ignore it and move on.

As they walked back, Liam noticed the gardevoir who was seated at their table. Her name was Chelsea and she had grown up with Erik. The gardevoir had always been especially sweet and a bit shy towards him. He sometimes wondered if she had something similar to a crush on him, but never bothered to pursue it or even confirm it. She was cute, he had to admit. She had a graceful air about her with a flowing, almost regal dress-like body, befitting her delicate, almost waifish appearance. She always looked gentle enough that he thought she might not even have it in her to harm a fly. She helped Erik out as an assistant when needed. He likened her to something similar to a personal maid or sister-nanny, or a family pet.

"I'm not a pet, Liam," she exclaimed with a mock glare.

Liam flashed a clever grin and retorted, "Of course not, you're more intelligent than he is! I was thinking more along the lines that he's your pet. Good to see your psychic abilities are as sharp as ever, by the way."

Chelsea's glare turned to a smile and the three shared a laugh before the two humans joined her, sitting down at the table.

"Sorry, Chelsea. I just don't have that much experience with pokémon. I didn't mean to be insulting or anything."

This was true. Outside of the most common of grass inhabiting species and a few choice pokémon owned by the rich, who usually kept them as pets to be displayed, you were not likely to run into pokémon or trainers in his town.

"No, I'm just playing," she said. "I didn't take it that seriously. I do hope you get to meet a few interesting pokémon at some point though. I think it would be worthwhile for you. Who knows, you might even find a companion in one of us, if you were to try." She smiled at him and then changed the subject, "Shall we get our food now?"

Erik looked at Liam, who nodded slightly in agreement.

"Sure, let's go," he replied, and the three of them stood up and made their way over to the buffet tables. Liam skimmed over the sashimi tables, stopping briefly to pick up the two types of sushi he knew he liked, before moving on to the hot food table.

"So I'm guessing this is where you tell me you found a graduate school you like and that you're finally moving away." He turned to Erik with a grin. "This the going away celebration?"

Erik, who was still loading his plate up , kept his eyes on the table when he answered, "Well, it's true that I have found a school and it's true that I'll probably have to move away and that is something I was going to tell you but," he looked up at Liam with a mischievous smirk, "You really think I'd send off with this? No, I've got one last thing planned before that happens, but that's for later. There's some stuff I think we've got to take care of first. Let's have a bite to eat, for starters, and enjoy ourselves!"

He gave Liam a friendly slap on the back. "I love this food, dude. I'd be happy to eat this every day. What about you?"

"What, Sinnohan food? I mean, yeah, I could do it, sure. There are a few different types of cold rolls I enjoy and I actually really like a lot of the hot food."

"Yeah, dude and can you imagine how good this stuff is when it's fresh out of the sea there?"

They continued chatting as they made their way around the buffet, Erik piling on multiple plates of different cold and hot foods, Chelsea adding a very modest serving of a few different types of cold rolls, and Liam sticking with what he knew and grabbing the foods he knew he liked.

The small group headed back to their table and started their meal. They chatted about inconsequential topics as they ate, the pleasant company and lively conversation setting Liam's mind at ease. It was easy to forget the reason that Erik had called him out here and just enjoy talking with his friends.

As the meal was wrapping up and the group's plates were just about empty, Erik looked up at Chelsea and nodded at her.

"I think it's about time for some drinks. Saké okay with you, Liam? I think that'd be the traditional thing to do at a sushi shop."

"Sure, that sounds good. Been years since I've had any," he replied.

Erik looked back to the gardevoir and asked, "Great. Chelsea, do you mind grabbing them?"

"Not at all. I'll go get ahold of the bartender then. I'll need your ID though, Erik."

"Thanks Chelsea, that's nice of you," Liam said gratefully.

After picking up the license that Erik had slid across the table, she smiled at Liam and left towards the front of the restaurant. He noticed her expression was strange - her smile had a hint of sadness to it - guilt maybe, or pity.

As Liam was processing this, he heard Erik speak up.

"Man, alright, ok, here comes the part I wasn't looking forward to." Erik let out a long sigh as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a cellphone. The buttons made audible taps as he searched for something on it. "Alright bud, I don't want to have to say this and I'm really sorry, but I think it's for the best that you know." He put the phone down in his lap and looked at his friend before beginning to explain. "The other evening, I was invited to the bar to join some of the other med students from university to celebrate finals. I had to stop at home first - Mom needed some help, so I ended up being pretty late. When I came in, I noticed your girl, Clara, was with the group but… she was kissing one of the guys there." His face scrunched up as he continued. "I hung back after I saw that, stayed at the bar. Watched for a while to make sure. It got pretty heated and...I'm sorry dude...I watched him take her to the bathrooms."

He brought his phone back up and showed his friend the pictures he had taken from the bar. They showed exactly what he had described. Liam's girlfriend sitting on another man's lap, kissing the guy passionately. Various alcoholic drinks scattered across the table. Several clearly drunk people looked on, either cheering, laughing, or smiling, all unaware of the implications and consequences of the act. As he scrolled across the screen with his finger, another image of her, from behind, holding his hand as they headed toward the bar's restroom area together.

Liam's heart sunk in an instant, as the one promising thing he had worked for disintegrated in his soul. The idea of her and their relationship crumbled away, replaced with little more than an empty void. She'd been stringing him along the whole time. His eyes darted from side to side as his thoughts raced. His head sunk down.

"I'm sorry, bud. I left immediately after that. Maybe I should have told you right away, but I didn't know how I should have gone about it. I didn't know if I should have called you or what.I'm sorry," Erik repeated.

"No...it's alright," he managed to gather himself enough to answer, suppressing his urge to cry.

"Has she said anything recently? Has she _done_ anything?" Erik asked tentatively.

"No," Liam responded, followed by a long pause. Clearly choked up, he clarified. "She hasn't been around as much lately, but I didn't read anything into it. I guess I should have known." His emotional state continued to deteriorate as more and more memories ran through his thoughts and as his brain tried to rationalize the situation. At this point there were tears in his eyes.

He continued, "She had been talking about how we needed to do something with our lives, that we weren't getting anywhere. She said I should have continued school...that she should have too. I mean, sure, I probably should have, but I just didn't have the money to continue, man. There was nothing I could do about it."

"I know, buddy," Erik consoled him.

"I had nothing to work with. I was doing the best I could with nothing to build from. Now she's gonna turn her back on me?"

"Look, Liam, call her tomorrow. Don't do anything tonight, nothing good will come of it while you're in this state. We'll get this sorted out. Everything will be fine, bud. I'm here for you."

Liam smiled defeatedly as he looked up at his best friend. "Thanks, man. Thanks for letting me know, it's just… This fucking sucks though. She was all I really had here."

"I know. Let's just have a few drinks for now. I'll get someone to drive us home in your car so you won't have to get it in the morning."

"She knows about this, doesn't she?"

"Who, Chelsea? Vaguely, yeah, but you know she's a psychic pokémon. It's not much use trying to hide things from her."

"What about your car though? How are you going to get it? Won't she have to come back for that?"

"We took a cab. We'll take one back."

Liam thought for a moment before a small smile crossed his face. "You're too clever for your own good, you know. Can I at least pay for your cab ride?"

"It wasn't me it was Chelsea's idea," Erik replied with a small laugh, "And no, you can't."

As if on cue, the gardevoir returned with a glass server, filled with saké, and several matching glass cups on a tray. She sat the tray down, passed out the small cups, and filled each one of them.

"I'm sorry this happened to you, Liam," she said solemnly, never looking up from pouring.


	2. New Hope

_**Several days later…** _

Liam awoke startled, barely aware that something had jolted him out of his sleep. He immediately noticed the pounding pain in his head, recognized it as a hangover, and then heard the aggressive ringing and vibration buzz of his cellphone a short ways away.

' _That fucking bitch,'_ was the first thing he thought, assuming it was Clara contacting him but soon collected his wits a little bit and changed his mind. It was pretty doubtful she'd call to apologize.

He fumbled around on the couch, searching for the device. He swept his hand across the carpet in the direction of the sound, knocking over but quickly righting a now empty glass . The next ring allowed him a little more accuracy in his search - It was on the floor behind the arm of the couch his head was tucked into. He brought his hand back, and then swung it over, before quickly realizing that none of his limbs were long enough to reach the phone from this angle. He sighed loudly, and contemplated giving up for a brief moment. However, as soon as he thought this, he noticed that it hadn't rang on time - he had missed the call.

He let himself relax for a bit , and then forced himself to sit up, hearing his message tone go off as he did. He stood up and walked over to the phone, picked it up off the carpet, turned it over so the screen faced him, unlocked the screen, and sat down.

It was from Erik: _Hey. Hope ur alright. Haven't heard from u in a while. If ur up to it wanna grab something to eat today?_

_Sure. Sorry I missed your call. Actually right now would be best. Have a killer hangover to get rid of. U free?_

_Yep. If u can give me 30 minutes I sure can be free. Make sure u drink water while u wait. I guess we can go to the blue light cafe_

_Alright. See u there_

Liam put his phone down on the couch cushion and brought the glass he had almost knocked over earlier back to the kitchen to refill it. He didn't usually drink, except for fun when he was over at Erik's place, but he had nothing better to do last night and wanted to see if alcohol was as good a problem solver as everyone else seemed to think it was. He regretted it. It hadn't really made him forget his sorrows over his failed relationship. It had actually done almost the opposite, to the point where he'd considered that maybe his whole life had been a waste of time.. He just needed to focus on something else - a few cups of coffee and some eggs and bacon would surely help with this hangover.

He downed the glass of water he was holding before pulling off the clothes from last night and grabbing a quick shower. He then brushed his teeth, threw on some warm and comfortable clothes and a pair of sunglasses to avoid as much light as possible, and then headed out the door.

The Blue Light cafe was an old mom-and-pop diner that he was surprised could still stay in business. It was a bit worn and tired-looking but had a relaxing aura to it. The prices were cheap too. Sadly, he doubted the place could stay open much longer in the declining economic state of the city, as the poor were finding it more and more difficult every day to eat out somewhere, and the rich could afford to eat at more upscale restaurants.

He pulled the door to the business open, found Erik at a booth near the entrance, and went to sit down, giving the best smile he could muster back to the waitress.

"Be with ya in a sec," she called out.

"Good morning, Sunshine. You look like a shady drug dealer, to be honest," Erik teased.

With a laugh, Liam replied, "The sun hurts. My eyes hurt. My head hurts. Everything hurts."

Erik didn't have any food or drink on the table, so Liam figured he had arrived just before himself. He sat down across from Erik and was able to glance through the menu before the waitress arrived to take their orders, both getting traditional breakfast platters. They talked about Liam's drinking episode. Liam explained about why he had tried it and how he felt about it.

Erik nodded and leaned back in his chair, replying, "Hey, it's certainly not for everyone and I think breakup drinking has done more harm than good for humanity."

"Yeah well, you live, you learn. Got any better ideas, for next time?"

"Best you can really do is just sleep on it, to be honest," Erik explained. "Do everything you can to relax yourself and fall asleep." It's always easier to deal with it in the morning. Especially when you're not having to deal with a hangover."

Liam grinned at the advice. "Gotcha."

After a few moments of silence, Erik decided to ask, "So did you end things with her?"

"With Clara? Yeah. She said I wasn't going anywhere with my life. Said she'd found someone who was going to… 'make real money.' " Liam emphasized the foolishness of her idea by making quote marks in the air with his fingers.

"Wow, I didn't think she was that shallow," Erik said with a scowl.

"I didn't either. Good luck to her though. She'll need it. Thinks she's found a good life and true love by fucking a drunk guy at a bar."

Erik shrugged. "You live, you learn."

"Yep, true that."

"You're taking it pretty well though, I have to say," Erik commented.

"Well I mean, I cried on the floor like a bitch, the first few days. Nothing I can really do about it though, besides move on or mope around and complain."

"Good to hear bud. At least you found out now, before you invested even more into a relationship with her."

Liam nodded. "Yep."

Once the more serious issues were out of the way, they passed the time chatting companionably for a while. Liam could feel an air of expectancy, though; There was some important news that Erik hadn't shared with him yet.

"Look, I doubt you came out here just to ask me about Clara. So, what's going on?" Liam asked as he finished his breakfast.

Erik smiled and tried to talk but it was a feeble effort with a mouthful of food. He closed his mouth again and put his finger in the air to indicate that he needed a second. "Ok, so..."

He interrupted himself to shovel the last of his toast into his mouth, putting his finger up yet again.

"I hope it's good news this time, man. I'm not sure I can take another breakup."

"Yeah, don't worry, it's nothing bad this time ," Erik chuckled , swallowing as he did. He heaved a sigh and put on a big smile as he put down his knife and fork. "You remember at the sushi place, when I said I had something for you - part of my going away celebration?"

Liam tilted his head slightly in confusion and responded, "Barely. Why?"

"I think you might like this one, but I'm not sure."

"Well, spit it out then," Liam insisted, sitting up and leaning forward a bit in anticipation.

"Alright. If you want it, I got you a plane ticket out of here."

Liam was caught entirely off guard. "What? Why? What for?"

"I got you a job too."

"A job? What are you talking about, dude? I'm entirely lost now."

Erik smiled and waved his hand to mentally clear the conversation. He explained to his friend, "Sorry, sorry. You know I'm going to another school to continue. I'm going to leave early next month."

"Next month? That's in just a few weeks," Liam interrupted.

"Yeah, listen. You're my best friend and you looked after me when we were kids. I haven't forgotten that. I wouldn't leave you in this situation, so I'm gonna do the best thing I can to help you."

"I'm not taking your money, Erik," Liam interrupted yet again.

Erik chortled at the remark."I figured you'd say that, and so I took that into consideration. Let me finish this time. Alright, where was I? Right, I'm leaving soon. Again, it's up to you if you want to or not, but my aunt and uncle have a job you can do. They offered it to me when I was looking at schools in the area. It pays decently - about what you're getting paid now."

Liam opened his mouth to remark, but was quickly cut off as Erik continued.

" _BUUUT_ … you get free rent."

Liam shut his mouth and started properly listening, his interest piqued by that element of the offer.

"You also get breakfast and dinner for free every day. The work isn't too bad either. You just have to help Erika and Greg with the customers. They're the owners. They run our family's "skiing-slash-hiking" lodge."

"Skiing? Where is this?" Liam asked with intrigued caution.

"Northern Sinnoh. Overlooks Snowpoint City," he said with a grin.

Liam thought about it for a second then broke out in a smile himself, remembering the conversation about Sinnoh at dinner the other week.

"You clever bastard! I see what you did. I should have caught on sooner. What if I had told you I couldn't stand sushi, back at the restaurant?"

"I had never thought about it, to be honest! So anyways, I got you the job, the ticket, I've got you some cold weather clothes. Just about got you a brand new life. It's a big change though, so think about it. You're gonna have to sell most of your stuff. Can't really bring much with you on a plane. I can't promise I could get you back here either, if you change your mind afterwards. You should probably just consider it a one-way trip, if you do take it."

"Have you met them? Erika and…"

"Greg," Erik finished for him. "Yes, I have."

"Right. Erika and Greg. What are they like? "

"Erika is one of the nicest ladies you'll probably ever meet. Think of the most endearing grandmother you can and that's about what you should expect from her. Greg is your typical lazy old man. Nice, just lazy. He's most of the reason they need help running the place, I'm pretty sure."

Liam rested his head on his hands contemplatively while he thought it over. It was a big decision to make - he was being offered a fresh start, but that required leaving everything he had here behind. He really wasn't sure. He looked up at Erik and breathed in through his teeth.

"Man, I don't know. It's a lot to think about. How much time have I got to decide?"

"Plane leaves two weeks and two days from tomorrow. Same as me."

The pair stood up from the booth. Liam reached into his jacket pocket and grinned determinedly.

"I'm paying this time."

"Alright, alright. I'll let you this one time," Erik replied, some good-natured mockery in his voice.

Liam raised his hand for a handshake, which was quickly grasped by his friend's. He leaned in and gave Erik a small, short hug.

"Love you, man. Can't tell you how much I appreciate this."

"Yeah, I know. Me too," Erik joked. "Let me know what you decide."

"Will do."

Liam put the cash out for the bill and the two left the restaurant together. He turned down his friend's offer of a ride home - he wanted some alone time to contemplate everything - and the two went their separate ways. As he started his walk home, his headache forgotten in the excitement, he admitted to himself that he already knew the answer he'd give to the offer. He'd known well before they parted, but thought he should probably at least wait until he got home, so Erik knew he was taking it seriously.

What was there to stay for anyways? He had nothing connecting him to this town anymore, besides a family that hardly cared about him and probably couldn't help him even if they did. Memories? He could make new memories - better ones than he could make in this place. His shitty apartment? The one with the old carpet and broken appliances, with the lovely view of the parking lot? His friends? The one he had left was moving away.

He walked the rest of the way home daydreaming about what his new life might be like. Maybe he'd meet new friends, try new food, take up some new hobbies. He imagined what life at a ski lodge would be like: the tasks he'd be in charge of completing, the smell of the mountain air, the sight of fresh snow. He also wondered if he'd meet any pokémon like Chelsea, maybe even find friends in them like she had suggested he try. He smiled as he made it to his apartment and ripped a piece of paper out of one of his spiral notebooks, writing a hasty note on it. He signed it, folded it up into his pocket, and drove to his work to drop it off.

After climbing back into his car, he pulled his cellphone and sent a text to Erik.

_I'll do it. I just gave work my two weeks._

He grinned with newfound excitement, vigor, and hope, and pulled out of his work's parking lot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact that's relevant to enjoying the story as it continues: Sinnoh is based off the island of Hokkaido in Japan. I found this out while researching areas for my story. As such, I decided to go with that theme. I hope this explains the sushi thing and will allow you to understand the story better, going forward.


	3. Planting the Seeds of Change

The next two weeks went by very slowly as Liam waited for his big move. It was a combination of nervousness and excitement that made time seem to crawl to a stop. The fact that he had not allowed himself to see his old town in anything but the most negative light certainly didn't help either. However, eventually the day that Eric had asked Liam to meet him had arrived. It was two days before his flight, and he was to pick up the clothes and other things that had been bought for him for his move.

Hearing a car horn honk twice outside, Liam left his now empty apartment and locked the door behind himself. He had earlier made a list of everything that was important to bring. After compiling it, he found that there was nothing he wanted to keep that he'd need to mail or otherwise ship. He had decided to basically just bring clothes and a few keepsakes like pictures of friends. Everything else was either sold, like his car, or thrown away. His apartment was now barren, save for the three suitcases sitting in the living room.

A fancy black car was waiting for him in the parking lot, close by. He opened the door at the back of the car, returned the smile from the gardevoir sitting on the other side, and slipped in. He put his seat belt on and the greeted her as the car drove off.

"Hey, Chelsea."

"Hi, Liam. Erik was busy today so he asked me to step in his stead. I hope that's okay with you. He'll still be able to see you off at the airport, Friday morning."

"No, I don't mind," he replied. "What's he got going on?"

"His father had some business clients or the like come in and he asked Erik to have lunch with the group."

"Ahh, sounds pretty boring," Liam said, settling back into his seat.

"I'm sure it will be. I also thought it might be nice to be able to see you before your flight."

Chelsea smiled at him from the other seat.

"You not gonna be able to make it out to see us off, then?"

The gardevoir played with her hair as she spoke.

"I'll be there. I just thought it might be nice to…you know, spend some time with you, with my friend that I may not get to see again."

Spend some time with me? Is she hitting on me? Liam thought to himself, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.

She broke out into a grin at this, and replied with a shrug for added effect, "Who knows, maybe."

Chelsea abruptly changed the subject as the car made its way out of the residential district and to the edge of the downtown area where the mall was.

"So what do you know about Sinnoh? Are you excited?"

Liam's eyes widened as he realized he had done absolutely zero research on the area he was moving to, other than what had been explained to him by Erik.

Oh, shit.

He had been way too excited about getting a new start to make sure the place he was going wasn't some sort of deathtrap or that the place even existed, for that matter. He didn't even bother to ask what the name of the resort was. He felt incredibly stupid, trying but failing to convince himself that he had simply trusted his friend.

The gardevoir burst out laughing.

"This is why I like you, Liam. You're too interesting."

She covered her mouth as she continued giggling.

"Oh, shut up. And stop reading my thoughts," he said with his arms crossed and nothing else he could really say about the whole thing.

It was a pretty dumb situation he had found himself in but it was, without a doubt, his fault.

"Don't worry," she managed. "I've visited the resort before. It's a pretty serene place. To be honest, I'm jealous of you." Regaining her composure, she continued, "The resort is called Weavile Creek. The lodge and the area it inhabits are both extraordinarily beautiful. It's... cold. Of course, you knew that, but what I mean is that it's cold year-round. Snows often throughout the year, being on a mountain and all. It snows pretty constantly further up the mountain, on the ski trails. It'll be a big change, living in an area where streams not completely freezing over is considered summer."

"Yeah, I think I can handle it though. And yes, I'm excited. Super excited to start a new life there."

Chelsea smiled.

"I can imagine you are. . Besides, you won't have to leave the warmth of the resort too often, seeing as how you will work there and all."

Liam nodded as he listened. He was about to reply when the car came to a gentle stop. A quick glance out the window confirmed that they had arrived at the local mall.

"And the clothes we'll get here will definitely help you out during the times you'll have to venture out," she said as she took off her seatbelt.

Liam quickly undid his well and hopped out, leaning back in to politely ask, "Want me to help you out?"

"Yes, please. That's kind of you, Liam."

He beamed and walked around to her side of the car to open her door, before holding his hand out and helping her get out of the sedan.

"I'd ask for your arm, as well, but I worry some people might get the wrong idea."

Liam noticed the slight pouty look on her face and though he knew it was likely partly fabricated, quickly dismissed her worries.

"Meh, forget 'em. You're leaving with Erik, right? And well, I'm out of here in a couple days anyways. What's the worst that could happen? If someone says something, we'll just ignore them. If they start something, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

Chelsea's eyes lit up and her cheeks flushed. She brought her closed hands up to her chest and did a small twirl in delight.

"Good, Liam! Good. I like it!" She said as she grabbed his arm and wove her own through to hold onto him by his elbow. "So, how did work take you quitting, by the way?"

They made their way to the entrance of the popular clothing retailer in what could better be described as a strip mall than a shopping mall. Like the rest of the downtown district, it was fairly aged. Only a few buildings, including this one, were even two stories.

He shrugged with his elbows. "Didn't seem too worried about it. Just said, 'Ok. I'll take you off the schedule.' I was honestly even surprised they remembered to do that. I was very much expecting to call yesterday and have to explain to them that I had quit and ask to be taken off this week. They did it though, kudos to them."

The two broke arms long enough for Liam to open the door for his gardevoir friend and then returned to chatting as they walked toward the store map, just a few steps ahead. As he looked around, Liam found that neither of their worries of being judged were very well founded, as including the people working there, there were less than a dozen people in the store, that he could see.

As the two planned their route to the various departments they'd need to visit, they continued chatting.

"So you said you've been there before, to the lodge. When was this?"

Chelsea raised the forefinger on her free hand to her lip, in thought.

"That was awhile ago, when Erik was around thirteen, I believe. Erik goes every few years, in order to see his relatives there. He's not too fond of the cold or winter activities though, so he doesn't ever stay long. It's usually not worth going, myself. His aunt and uncle have been asking me to come along with him recently, so now that you're there, I might have to."

The gardevoir gave a playful tug at his arm.

"What's the town like?" Liam asked.

The two had grabbed just about all they needed. She pointed to the escalator and the two stepped onto it to go to the second floor of the shop. She suggested they grab some winter accessories that were up there.

"Bigger," she replied. "It's a city, not really a town. It's more compact and, area-wise, it's smaller than this town." She stopped talking for a second to show him some overcoats that she thought would suit him and fulfill their purpose of keeping him warm. As she pulled one off the rack, she continued, "But there are more people in Snowpoint; more buildings; more things to do."

As they made their way over to the hats, she and Liam picked out a few various fluffy and warm-looking ones. Chelsea grabbed a particularly furry, enormous, ridiculous black hat that looked vaguely like something from a monster movie and put it on his head.

"Go on, go look at it in the dressing room. It looks stunning on you!" She said, trying not to laugh.

Liam rolled his eyes. " I'm not wearing that. You said there was more to do in Snowpoint, like what?"

"Aww," she pouted, "Go look, it's hilarious! I'll tell you if you go look."

He thought for a moment, not wanting to disappoint and hoping to deflect some of the embarrassment away from himself. He soon thought of a way to kill three birds with one stone.

"Tell you what. If you wear one too, I'll take a picture of us to remember this by."

"Deal!" she exclaimed.

The gardevoir grabbed a red version of the hat and slapped it on top of her head before dragging Liam to the dressing room area. There was no one inside and the employee area was vacant.

"Man, this place is dead," he commented to no one in particular.

"It's why their prices are so high. They have to make a profit somehow. They probably figure it's cheaper to take the hit from shoplifting than to pay to keep it staffed properly. Anyways, like I said earlier, it was a long time ago that I last visited. However, just from what I remember, Snowpoint was more exciting to be in. There's a large community area in the middle. There were a bunch of people playing sports in the snow and on the ice there. Lots of people and pokémon walked around and visited the different restaurants, live music bars, shops and things like that."

"You have a pretty good memory, you know. "

"Thanks," she said, "It comes in handy."

"Well, it sounds much better than this hole of a town. It makes me pretty excited. Can't wait."

"Here, look. Here's a mirror we can use," she said, grabbing him by the arm again. "Take a picture of us!"

Liam took out his cellphone, cleaned the fingerprints off the camera lense and held it up parallel to the mirror, making sure he could see both of them in the frame. Liam made a pose like a machoke; Chelsea went with a peace sign, and Liam captured the moment on his phone, showing it to her for her approval.

"Can you send it to Erik for me? I'll have him print it so I can have a copy too."

Liam agreed and put the phone back in his pocket. As he did this, Chelsea spoke up again.

"It is definitely different. The sidewalks were wider, people drove on the other side of the road, people seemed happier and much more friendly. It's great though. I really think you'll enjoy it Liam."

She looked at him out of the corner of her eye.

"There are other things that are different about Snowpoint as well."

"Other things? Like what?" He asked curiously.

"Do you remember last month when I talked to you about how you might get to meet new pokémon? About broadening your horizons, getting to know them? ?"

Liam tilted his head slightly as he recalled the memory before answering, "Yeah, I remember. Why?"

Just as he finished his sentence, Chelsea leaned in, rested her hands on his arms, tilted her head, a bit, causing the monstrosity of a hat she was wearing to fall off, and placed her lips on his, pushing just so slightly against them.

The first thing that went through his mind was how soft they were, and then that there was a pokémon kissing him. His mind didn't really react to it in any way that was related to the thoughts going through his head at the moment, he just let it happen.

She soon began the faintest pull away from his lips, and as if he was going to lose balance, he quickly moved his hands to her hips in order to brace himself. His body, his instincts didn't let him end it. Almost against his will, he put his own pressure back against her lips, slightly parting them with his own.

The gardevoir tightened her grip on his arms ever so slightly and took the opportunity to further the kiss, exploring and inviting him by wetting his bottom lip with her tongue. He accepted, brushing his tongue against hers, before they intertwined lightly and playfully.

Her saliva was ever so slightly earthy and sweet, alien but pleasant, and he found himself disappointed as she pulled away from him, letting her tongue brush against his the entire length, until their mouths separated.

Chelsea wiped her mouth and smiled at him, bringing him back to reality. He quickly let her waist go. And licked his lips to clear them of her excess saliva.

"Certain laws are… a little more lax there. Certain kinds of relationships are a little more common. Hardly even frowned upon, even," she said in a clearly embarrassed but happy tone.

She began picking up the clothes that they had put down to try on the hats as Liam continued to stand there a bit shocked at the events that had unfolded.

"It's just something I want you to keep in mind when you go. You know, friends, companions, ..." She paused and then winked as a substitute to the rest of the sentence. "Alright, let's go pay for this, shall we?"

Chelsea turned around and began to walk toward the escalator. Just before she made it to the first step, she felt Liam's arm wrap around her own. She looked up at him. He continued looking straight ahead.

"Wow," was the only thing he managed as a grin formed on his face.

"Yeah?" She asked.

"Yeah."

She smiled back up at him.

"Was that for the poképhilia thing or the kiss?" Chelsea asked him.

"The kiss."

"Maybe, just maybe I'll have to ask Erik if we can come visit you sometime then," she suggested, elbowing him playfully.

"Yeah, maybe. I think I might like that."

The day had finally come. It was just a few hours before his flight would leave and he would hopefully never see this place again.

Liam walked through the apartment again, checking every room for anything he might have accidentally left behind. He had left the place looking as nice as possible. The rooms still showed the streaks of a vacuum cleaner he had borrowed from a neighbor.

He double checked his belongings, making sure his plane ticket was still in his pocket, his wallet in his back pocket. He did a mental check that his responsibilities had been fulfilled here in his old town. He worried that he had missed something, anything, but his checklist came back all clear. As he worried himself to death, a familiar message tone played from his phone.

We're outside, it read.

He grabbed his backpack, stuffed to the brim, and slung it over his shoulder before grabbing the handles on his two suitcases and extending them so they could be rolled. He made his way out to the familiar black sedan. As he approached, the trunk opened and he made his way to the back, carefully adding his luggage to the several suitcases and other containers that were already inside.

Erik greeted him with a fistbump after Liam sat down next to him. Chelsea greeted him with a "Hi!" from the far seat.

"Today is the day, my man."

Liam grinned, replying, "Today is most certainly the day."

"Got your ticket and all your stuff on you? Taken care of everything?" His friend asked.

"Yep. Double, triple, quadruple checked. I'm sure I'll have forgotten something, knowing me, but we'll have to find out what later."

Erik and Chelsea both laughed at his self-realization.

Liam decided to return the question to him. "Do you have everything, Erik?"

"Well you see, I have Chelsea here who is wonderful at helping me make sure I have my shit together. I most definitely would not have been ready without her help."

Liam grinned at him.

"Oh, but you're willing to give me shit about it, eh? What a dick."

"Keep being jealous, sucker!"

The car continued on its way and the three held pleasant conversation until arriving at their destination. Pulling up to the curb at the passenger drop off, the driver let the group out and helped them get their luggage, pulling away after they all had their belongings and had begun to make their way inside.

Liam momentarily swiveled around to try and make a mental picture of the last he'd see of his old town. Smiling at his lack of regret for leaving it, he took a few steps backward, toward the airport and then swung back around to keep walking normally.

Won't miss it at all.

The three made their way to the center gate hub and made sure that they all knew which way they needed to go.

Erik sighed slightly. "Alright bud. I think your flight will take a little bit longer than mine. Give me a call when you get there."

"Gotcha'. Come here bud."

The two friends embraced in a hug, patting one another on the back.

"Thanks again, Erik."

"Not a problem. I got ya'."

Chelsea waited for them to separate before getting a hug, herself. Her familiar pleasant scent briefly rekindling his memories.

"See you around, Liam," she said with a wink as she pulled away.

"Yeah, we'll come see you first chance we get. Remember, you're looking for a large, yellow SUV. The lady that will pick you up is named Erika. Here's her number."

Liam took the folded up piece of paper from him and slipped it into his pocket.

"Keep a hat and a jacket with you. You'll want to throw them on while you're still on the plane."

Liam nodded and did as he was recommended to, holding a coat under his arm and shoving a bomber hat into his backpack.

"Alright guys. I'll let you know when I get there," Liam said while grabbing his stuff.

The two guys shook hands and headed off in separate directions, each to their own gates. Liam arrived at his and pulled a book out of his bag after sitting down, to pass the time. After what seemed like an eternity, his flight was called for boarding and he quickly jumped in line to get a good seat. After handing off his flight ticket, he made his way into the tunnel, tapping his hand on the top ledge as he passed through the entrance.

He made his way to the middle of the plane and grabbed a window seat, figuring he'd want to see his new home from the air as they arrived. The plane filled rather slowly and it turned out he hadn't needed to rush to to line to get a good seat, as until the last third of passengers made it inside, several of the nearby window seats were still empty. Liam stared out the window while he waited, until a man's voice caught his attention.

"Hey, do you mind if we sit here?"

Liam looked over and saw a man and a leafeon in the aisle, facing his section of three seats.

Liam shook his head. "Nah, not at all," and motioned for him to sit.

"Thanks! Appreciate it."

Liam smiled back to the young man. He appeared to be around the same age and wore Loose, casual clothing - a pair of sweats and a t-shirt. After letting the rest of the passengers by, the man went back into the aisle to try and shove his luggage into the rack above.

"Hey, I was told this myself, but it might be a good idea to keep some warm clothing with you. You know, so you aren't trying to throw clothes on in the cold," Liam suggested.

"Nice catch, man! Thanks!" He said as pulled a suitcase back down and pulled coats for himself and his pokémon out. "Name's Ray. That's Lea." He motioned toward the leafeon with his chin, busy stuffing the suitcase once again into the bin.

"Liam. Nice to meet you."

Ray squeezed past Lea's seat and sat down. He turned to Liam.

"You too, friend. What are you doing in Snowpoint?"

"Moving there, actually."

The leafeon spoke this time. "Oh, big life event then. Excited?"

Liam had to speak a bit louder as the plane's engines began to spool up. He quickly glanced out the window to see all the maintenance cars and people pull away.

"Yeah, definitely," he said, turning back to the pair. "What about you guys? Cute leafeon, by the way."

Lea and Ray both smiled at him and Lea thanked him.

"She's the reason we're out here, actually. Pokémon convention," he explained.

Liam nodded. "Oh neat."

As he was about to continue, the pilot's voice came over the intercom of the plane .

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Luke and I'm pleased to be your captain on this flight to Snowpoint city. The time will be just past two p.m. when we arrive. The weather right now is just slightly above freezing. It looks like we'll have clear skies and a fairly worry free flight the whole way there. We may even arrive slightly ahead of schedule with my amazing skills."

This got a chuckle from the passengers.

He continued, "We'll be departing here shortly as soon as the runway is clear. We've been okayed to taxi and will do so momentarily. As such, please fasten your seatbelts until I deem you all worthy, which you'll be informed of by the displays above your heads. So sit sit back, relax, and you'll hear my wonderful voice again as we begin our final descent."

Liam leaned over to Ray. "Alright, I'm gonna try and and get some sleep. I'll see you when we get there."

"Sure thing. Sleep well!"

"Sleep well, Liam," the leafeon added.

As the plane took off and gained altitude, Liam watched, hunched up and leaning against the window, as his old town slowly grow smaller and smaller in the distance. He took one final mental snapshot of it before closing his eyes and drifting off into sleep.


	4. (Not So) Smooth Landing

Liam awoke as the air pressure change from the plane's descent caused his ears to hurt. He sat up, shook his head, and massaged his jawline. The overhead console dinged and the pilot's voice came over the intercom again, informing the crew and passengers that they would be landing momentarily.

A small, silver rectangle appeared in front of his face and Liam turned to see that Ray was offering it to him.

"Gum?" He suggested. "It'll help with your ears."

Liam smiled and accepted his offer, thanking him after popping the stick of gum into his mouth. His ears quickly popped and the pain disappeared as he chewed on it.

He looked out the window and marvelled at the landscape growing larger as the plane made its way down. Mount Coronet was clearly visible, and was surrounded by shades of white and steel gray, with forests of snow-covered evergreen trees becoming more common near the base.

"So this is your new home, huh? What do you think so far?" Ray asked, stroking Lea's back as she slept. .

"It's beautiful," Liam responded with a wide grin on his face.

He still hadn't seen the lodge or the nearby city, but he had a feeling that he had made the right choice to move here. His smile stayed firmly stuck on his face as he studied the mountain below, taking in everything he could see. His fresh start was finally there in front of him.

His happiness must have been infectious; when he turned around Ray was smiling just as widely.

"Do you have work sorted out there?"

Liam nodded. "I'll be working at a ski lodge. A friend of mine put me onto the job. Weavile Creek, I think it's called."

"Weavile Creek? No way," Ray laughed. "That's where we'll be staying."

"Really? How long will you be staying there? I might make it through training in time to help you."

"We'll be here the whole week."

"Great, I'll hope I see you guys, and that I'll actually be able to help out."

By this time, the city had come into view outside the window and soon after, the plane touched down gently on the runway. Liam, Ray, and Lea said their goodbyes as they disembarked and promised to meet up at some point in the week as his two new friends left to find lunch somewhere. He might have joined them, but decided to do the sensible thing and find out where he was supposed to be picked up at.

Liam grabbed his bags from the baggage carousel, admiring the statues and other art in the airport as he passed by them, and after checking multiple maps, eventually found his way to the passenger pick-up area. Standing against one of the columns holding the overhang up, he took his phone out, checked the time, and noted he would need to wait about ten minutes before his ride would be there.

He began to look around as the pick-up time he scheduled arrived, expecting the yellow SUV he was told about. 5 minutes passed, then 10. He began to worry. Sitting down, he pulled out his cellphone and dialed the number he'd been given. It rang many times before going to voicemail. He sighed and hung up.

After another 10 minutes went by, he tried the phone number again, to no avail. He let out a long sigh, worried that something might have happened to his new employers or that something had gone wrong with Erik's planning. There wasn't much he could do about it either, as he only had the phone number to go off of.

Soon, he was the only one left in the pick-up area. He turned around when, a few minutes later, he heard the doors to the airport open. Liam waved to Ray and Lea as they walked out.

"You alright, Liam?" The leafeon asked, concerned.

"My ride never showed up."

"Do you need to borrow my phone?" Ray asked.

"No thanks, I already tried." Liam held up his phone.

Lea spoke up. "We could take him with us, right Ray? We're going to the same place."

"Yeah, that would work. We're going to rent a car and head to the resort. Why don't you tag along?"

"Thanks, that's really nice of you guys."

The three walked down the sidewalk toward the sign that read Car Rentals and talked to the man at the counter in the small building, choosing a rugged-looking red SUV.

With Ray driving, Liam in the passenger seat, and Lea sitting in his lap, they got on the local highway, heading toward Mount Coronet in the distance and the lodge near its base.

Liam called the number he had for the lodge one more time, leaving a message explaining what had happened and where he was, in case someone showed up looking for him at the airport. After hanging up, he decided to make conversation with his saviour.

"So what is the convention you're here for about?"

Ray smiled. Keeping his eyes on the road, he returned his question with one of his own.

"Ever heard of ATP?"

"No, I don't think so. What is it?"

"Well, it's a place to go to meet new people. You know, find new friends that you share common interests with. It's for both people and pokemon."

"That sounds kind of familiar," Liam said under his breath, thinking back to what his gardevoir friend had said.

"It might be something you'd be interested in checking out," Lea suggested. "What do you think of pokémon, Liam?"

"That's a pretty broad question, isn't it? But, I mean, I don't have a whole lot of experience with... pokémon. I knew a gardevoir. She was pretty cool, but that's about..."

Lea picked up on this and immediately cut in.

"Did you ever do anything with her?"

"Like what?" Liam asked.

"You know… like… Ray, can I just ask him?"

Ray just shrugged in response.

"Do you believe in love between humans and pokémon?"

"Oh… I don't know. I mean, I don't think I'm against it."

"So you're not opposed to the idea of it, then. Have you thought about trying it yourself?" Lea asked, a strong note of hope in her voice.

"Okay, okay," Ray interrupted, waving his hand toward the leafeon, "Don't interrogate the guy. Listen, Liam, the convention's going to be going on all week, if you want to learn more, you'll be able to meet a lot of people with lots of different ideas who could probably explain it better than me."

Soon, the lodge they'd be staying at came into view. It was a beautiful, large two story building with an exterior of wood and stone. Snow covered the roof and splashed the windows and walls giving it a frosted look.

Lea and Liam both stared out the window in awe as they approached. Lea commented on the beauty of the area, saying he was lucky to have the opportunity to live here.

He agreed, knowing he was being given an exceptional opportunity here and if Liam wanted to make a serious effort to broaden his horizons like Chelsea suggested, he knew this could very well be his best chance. He still wasn't sure what kind of relationship he'd be willing to have with pokémon, but he was sure he wanted to make the most of the chance he had been given and come out of it a better person. It was the least he could do to repay his friend for this new life.


	5. Hide and Seek

_**Smut warning** _

* * *

"Hi there, welcome to Weavile Creek! How can I help you?" asked the lady behind the counter. She seemed kind and sweet, dressed in thick traditional robing. Liam guessed from her appearance and mannerisms that she was probably in her mid fifties.

Liam put on his best smile and introduced himself as the group approached the desk and set down their luggage. "Hi, I'm Erik's friend, Liam. Are you Erika, by any chance?"

The lady's face changed from a smile to one of confusion. "Yes, I am. Where's Greg though? I sent him to pick you up."

"Well, I tried calling the number I was given a few times but no one answered. I got a ride here from these guys."

Liam pointed to Ray and Lea, who smiled at her.

Erika smiled back. "Give me one second, guys."

She swiveled her chair to the side and left the desk, walking down the main hall. This gave Liam and the group some time to look around at Liam's new workplace and home. The walls and ceiling were wooden with large beams and columns supporting the room. Paintings of local pokémon, skiing scenes, and other winter events lined the walls.

There was a large living area near the entrance, where large windows gave a great view of the mountain and the bottom of the ski slopes. A large fireplace sat in between the windows, emanating light and heat to the several couches facing each other in the center of the room. Faux fur blankets were neatly folded and draped over them.

Ray whistled in admiration, stating, "Man, this place is amazing."

Lea nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah, it's super cozy. Good choice, Ray! I doubt a hotel in the city could beat this."

A commotion caused them to turn toward main hall. They turned to see Erika storming back toward them practically dragging a man, who was yelping in pain, by the ear.

"This is my husband, Greg," she explained in an irritated tone, still holding the man by the ear. "He was supposed to pick you up but decided to take a nap instead. Isn't that right, Greg?"

"I said I was sorry!"

"I don't know why you're saying sorry to me when I'm not the one you left at the airport in the cold. This is Liam. The one who's going to be helping us out."

She let go of him and Greg stood up straight, rubbing his ear.

"I'm sorry Liam. I was watching TV, and.. Well, I did not mean to fall asleep.

Liam smiled back at him, trying to keep from laughing at the man's misfortune.

"That's alright. No harm done. I was more worried about you guys so I'm glad to see it was a simple thing. This is Lea and this is Ray," he said as he indicated to them with his hand. "They're going to be booking a room here and were kind enough to lend me a ride."

"Ah. Well, welcome, and thanks for bailing me out there. How about I make it up to you all by taking everyone out for dinner in town tonight?" Greg offered.

"I'm glad I could help and that's very nice of you to offer, Greg, but Lea and I have plans tonight so we'll have to decline. Thank you though!"

"That's a shame," Greg replied. "Liam, what about you?"

"Yeah, I think it would be a perfect opportunity to see the city and get to know you guys a little bit better."

Greg put his hands together and smiled.

"Great! Honey, can you book the new guests in? I'll show Liam his new room."

She agreed and went back to the counter at the front desk to help Lea and Ray while Greg led Liam down the hall.

"I want to apologize again. I know that wasn't the greatest first impression. My wife is the more… reliable of the two of us. I'm usually not that bad about things. I guess I just dozed off for a minute."

Greg stopped at the room furthest down the hall and turned to face Liam, handing him the key to the room. Liam unlocked and opened the door and walked inside.

His eyes were immediately drawn to the outside courtyard and a large stone toro lantern situated in the center of it, both of which were blanketed in snow, and then to the two paper-paneled inner doors open at the opposite end of the room that framed it perfectly. Light was flooding in from outside through the large sliding-glass outer doors, displaying the traditional Sinnohan style of decoration that pervaded the rest of the building - it was something he found appealing and that he supposed he'd be getting used to.

As Liam put his things down and looked around, Greg explained things to him.

"We were using the room as a sort of deluxe room but it was hardly ever rented. When we decided to find some extra help, we thought it would work well for that. What do you think? You like it?"

"It's great," he replied, still looking around.

"Glad you like it. We included some furniture that you are free to use as you like. Take your time and settle in. Today's what, Friday? We'll start showing you the ropes on Monday. Just meet us out in the lobby tonight around six.

Since you haven't been around the city at all yet, I've picked out a pretty great restaurant that I think you'll enjoy. Feel free to look around the inn and don't hesitate to ask us if you need anything."

"Oh, wait a second. I almost forgot," Liam grabbed a piece of stationery from the desk and wrote his phone number down before Greg left. "Can you give this to Ray, the guy who dropped me off, please? I think we're supposed to meet up at some point next week."

"Sure thing," Greg replied. "See you tonight."

* * *

_**Later that night…** _

Liam met in the living room at the time he was told. He had tried to dress a little bit nicer than normal, in case they decided to go somewhere with a dress code.

On the front desk was a sign stating that management was temporarily out and listed a number people could call if they needed help during that time. Greg was there, as was Erika, who smiled and waved at him when she saw him enter.

There were also a pair of similar pokémon lazing about on the desk, eyeing him and chatting with one another. He hadn't seen this type of pokémon before and he caught himself staring at them. They had well groomed teal fur, large diamond-shaped ears, long, thin tails and appendages near their ears, and slender bodies. Only minor differences such as their markings, shades of eye color, and slight facial structure made them distinguishable from one another.

"Liam, these are the girls." With her hand, Erika motioned at one of the pokémon. "This is Emma…" the pokémon smiled shyly then raised her paw off the desk and slightly up in greeting. "...and this is Aleasha," she said, moving her hand to the other pokémon.

Aleasha grinned and winked at him, and greeted him with a simple "Welcome," before going back to chatting.

Liam looked up at Greg and Erika and asked, "Are they friendly?"

"Rude! Of course we're friendly!" Said Aleasha.

Erika laughed and explained, "Yes, they're pretty friendly. You have to look out for Aleasha though. She's a bit of a trouble maker."

Aleasha rolled her eyes at the warning.

"I've never seen this type of pokémon before," Liam commented. "What species are you guys?"

"They're glaceon," Erika answered . "One of the eeveelutions. I think they originated here in Sinnoh, actually. The cold weather suits them well."

"And girls," she said, turning to the glaceon, "be nice to him. This is his first real experience with pokémon."

"Oh, is it now?" Aleasha asked in a teasing tone. The other glaceon simply watched with an amused face.

Ignoring her, Liam asked, "Do they live here at the inn?"

"Yep, they're our family. They've got their own area they stay in, though they're free to come and go as they please, since they're technically adults. They shouldn't bother you too much. They'll help out with the chores and stuff too."

"Cool, I'll look forward to getting to know you guys." Liam smiled at the glaceon, both of whom smiled back, and changed the subject. "So, where are we going to eat?"

* * *

A few days had gone by and Liam had begun his training to be an assistant innkeeper at the lodge. He had learned how to do the most important tasks, in case of an emergency, but spent most of his time tidying up and making sure supplies were restocked.

Tonight, he would be in charge of cleaning the bathrooms and restocking the changing rooms for the two hot spring baths. It was pretty late and so a perfect time to clean them. Checking the men's side, he found little work he would need to do. All that was needed was a good, quick wipe-down of the sinks and toilets, and a few towels that needed to be added to the shelf for the guests to use.

As he worked, he thought about what had been going on lately. The ATP convention had started to pick up in town, as it was the second day, and people were beginning to trickle into the inn. It appeared he had joined the staff at the perfect time. He was happy he could feel useful with the increase in work for the lodge.

He still didn't understand what exactly the ATP community was about, or what the point of the convention was. He knew it was about pokémon - that much was obvious - but what he wanted to know was what they did together as a community. Was it just a support group? Ray had texted him the day before and so he thought he might contact him and get some more clarification. It would probably help him get along with some of the guests and even make some new friends, if he understood them better.

He moved on to the lady's side and, after making sure he wasn't barging in on anyone, found it to be pretty similar to the other, though it seemed to have been used more. Liam passed through the changing area, into the bathroom, and started checking the stalls for missing toilet paper. He noticed one was empty and grabbed a replacement out of the nearby supply cabinets to replace it with.

As he was making his way back to place the new roll in , he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He was smart enough to keep the ringtone and other sounds off while he was working, but the owners didn't mind him using his phone as long as it didn't interfere too much with his work or inconvenience guests.

Liam pulled it out of his pocket and found a text message from a number he didn't have a contact for. He opened it and smiled as he scanned through it.

Hey Liam! It's Chelsea. Erik was nice enough to get me my own phone (and your number, I hope that's okay.) I wanted to see if you're still enjoying your new home and ask how things have been. Made any new friends? Any pokémon friends?

Liam typed out his response and sent it back to her.

Hi Chelsea! Cool I'm glad I'll be able to keep in touch with u without having to go through Erik all the time. I'm really enjoying the place so far. Greg n Erika have been really nice to me. I haven't really made any friends, some acquaintances. There are 2 glaceon that live here at the inn but I haven't rly talked to them all that much. I also met a leafeon and her trainer or w.e. They're here for a convention going on right now for something called "atp" There are actually quite a few people staying at the lodge that are here for it. I actually wanted to ask u about it so good timing. U know what it is?

Liam put the phone down on his lap and started removing the old roll while he waited for a reply. As he was putting the new one back on, he heard light footsteps and soft, muffled speaking, likely coming from somewhere just inside the changing room. He was about to call out to whoever it was and let them know he was servicing the bathroom, when he noticed that it was a male voice, and that whoever it was purposefully keeping his voice low.

"No no, no one's here, babe. Look, I'll check the bathrooms and make sure."

For some reason, Liam found himself panicking. With the footsteps approaching, he assessed his situation. He had sat in a far stall, the inside of which wouldn't be visible from the entrance to the bathroom area. With quick thinking, he pulled his legs up so his feet were off the ground and would remain unseen. His heart raced as he heard the person walk into the area and stop. He held his breath and was as quiet as possible. For a second, he thought he might have been "caught" and wondered what would happen next; would they report him for hiding in a women's bathroom? Or call him out to face them - that might be even more embarrassing. He sat there for what felt like minutes with his nerves wracking until finally he heard the footsteps leave.

"All the stalls are open, no one's here. We've got it to ourselves," the voice said.

Liam then felt what he assumed was Chelsea's response vibrate in his pocket. He was grateful it hadn't gone off sooner but he still didn't dare check it yet.

Another voice answered the first, "Okay, but I still wish you could lock these doors without a key."

Liam was confused at first. The second voice was feminine but something about it was off. It didn't sound quite… human; more gruff, almost canine.

A pokémon, maybe? He thought to himself.

Shortly afterwards, he heard the squeaking of what he recognized as one of the shower knobs being turned, followed by the downpour of water. Liam furrowed his brow, not knowing what to think or do. For a few minutes, he sat there, pondering what was going on and what he should do about it.

A strange sound brought him out of his thoughts and he listened intently, waiting to see if he could hear it again. Then it happened: a feminine moan, just barely audible over the sound of the water.

No way. No fucking way.

Another moan, louder this time. Liam almost jumped out of his skin when his phone vibrated again. He pulled it out and unlocked it, seeing, Hello? Liam, you fall asleep? as the preview for a message from Chelsea.

He did not read the first message and quickly replied to the second, Hold on I was cleaning the bathroom but I think someone's fucking their pokémon in the next room and don't know I'm here, then went back to listening intently.

The reply came very quickly. He checked it, half out of annoyance and half out of genuine excitement to be in this situation and be able to share it with someone. The moans of pleasure were becoming more frequent at this point and in spite of his misgivings it was starting to turn him on.

Chelsea had texted him, Let me see! Take a picture!

I don't want to get caught, Liam replied.

Who is it? What kind of pokémon?

I can't tell. I don't know voices and again I don't want to get caught.

So hide and use the camera! And send me the picture Liam!

He genuinely hadn't thought of that. Not a bad idea. The showers were far enough away from the entrance to the bathroom that the small phone camera lens would be hard to spot. He could fulfill Chelsea's wish too, since as his phone was on silent, the camera wouldn't make any noise.

Quietly, he snuck out of the stall and to the frame of the entryway. He opened the camera app, took a deep breath, and slowly moved the phone just over the frame until the could see the scene on the display.

Liam's heart jumped. He was right, and he recognized the type of pokémon from TV. It was a lucario. She was soaped up, standing in a shower in front of a guy about Liam's age, with her eyes closed and her mouth open. One of her arms rested against the guy's leg, the other paw gripped one of his hands that were fondling her small breasts. She groaned as he thrusted between her soapy thighs and up against her slit.

Liam gulped and hit the button to take a picture.

It's actually kind of hot, he added to the text to Chelsea, after attaching the photo.

He brought the phone back to its previous position at the entranceway. She had turned her head and tilted it back so that the two could kiss. He toggled the camera to video mode and quickly tapped record, watching the display and ignoring the vibration of Chelsea's reply.

The lucario gasped as she was turned toward the shower, giving Liam a view from the side, and then penetrated from behind. She moved her arms to give her leverage against the wall while he grabbed her waist with one hand and held her tail up with the other. Liam was as hard as he could remember being in a while, watching this spectacle as a voyeur, and his crotch twitched when she let out a loud, lust-filled whimper for the man who was plowing her.

"Yeah?" The man said. "You like that?"

"Y-yeah. I do! I love your cock, Mitch. Oh fuck, it feels good."

It was at this point that Liam realized that he actually really enjoyed watching this, even though it was a pokémon. He was surprised at himself for how sexy he found the act and even found himself fantasizing about being the one in the guy's place. A small part of him was surprised at himself, but he wasn't paying much attention to it anymore.

"Mm, I love you babe. I love that snug little pussy of yours too," the man grunted while continuing to thrust into her. He smiled and kissed her neck.

The lucario giggled back at him. "Are you about to cum?"

He rested his hands on her back and kept going. "Yeah, I'm almost there."

"Okay," she replied. "Just cum inside me."

She lowered her arms further down against the wall and stood on the tips of her paws, raising her rear and giving her partner better access to fuck her. The two grunted and moaned for several moments until the man's thrusting and vocality became more primal. In the same position, he grabbed her breasts and let out a loud, drawn-out groan, pushing the girl's entire body forward as he hilted himself in her cunt multiple times times over the course of several seconds. For a while, they stayed connected in that position, basking in the glow of their love making until eventually, he pulled out of her and the two embraced under the spray of the shower head, kissing passionately.

When it was clear that it was over, Liam brought his phone away from the frame and hit the record button again, saving the video to his phone. He went back to the stall and sat down to wait out the couple. He remembered about Chelsea, and checked the message.

Wow! That is hot, she had replied to the picture. So what do you think? Does it look like the kind of thing you might try?

Honestly, I'm so turned on right now. I recorded the whole thing. I can say I would have loved to be the one fucking her. So no I don't think I'd mind trying it.

Liam heard the water stop and a few moments later, heard the couple leave. He waited a few moments, then cautiously peeked around the corner to make sure they were gone. Confirming he was alone, he put his phone in his pocket and hurried outside and to his room. That whole situation and left him feeling pent up and horny and he needed to clear his head.

He entered his room through the open door, checking the hall to make sure no one had seen him scurrying around with a bulge in his pants, and shut the door behind him before plopping down in his computer chair at his desk. Fumbling with his phone's menu with one hand, he undid his pants with the other and pulled them down. He grabbed himself and began slowly stroking as the video he had taken played on his phone.

* * *

"Wutcha' watchin'?" Teased a feminine voice from under his desk, causing him to jump and drop his phone. It hit the ground and he looked down to see the head and top half of a glaceon poking out from under the desk, looking down at the lucario being groped by her human partner on the screen.

"What the fuck are you doing!?" Liam almost yelled.

Aleasha looked back up at him with the most mischievous, shit-eating grin on her face that he could have possibly imagined, and spoke with a mocking sing-song voice to match. "Ohhhh, I see what's going on here. Well! I waaaas going to scare you and then ask how you were adjusting to the new place. Buuut, you had your pants down before I knew it..." she looked like she was barely holding back giggles now.

He tried to defend himself, grasping wildly to keep a shred of dignity."Okay, look. It wasn't -"

"So, are you into fucking pokémon?" She asked matter-of-factly, completely cutting him off.

"No! I mean… I don't know," he responded. "I was just cleaning the bathrooms and they came in and didn't know I was there."

"Mmhmm. And you recorded them because…" She trailed off.

"I… Because…" Liam stumbled over his words, realizing he had been caught pretty much red-handed and not really sure of the answer to that, himself.

She winked at him and cut him off. "I see, I see. Well, I feel kind of bad for stopping you from…" The glaceon looked up at his half erect member and continued, "Taking care of that. Soooo... if you waaant... I can help you make up your mind and at the same time, make it up to you for blue-balling you."

"Wait, what? Help me make up my mind?" Liam asked, confused.

"Yeah, you know, about whether you're into pokémon," she said, popping up from under the desk and putting her dark teal paws on his legs. "Look, I think your dick has already made up your mind for you."

Without even realizing it he had gotten hard at the prospect of her offer, and her eyes were glued to it. She licked her lips and looked up at him, seemingly awaiting permission. This was his chance and though he tried to find a reason to stop her, to be turned off or against it, he couldn't and simply watched her.

She opened her mouth, let her tongue fall on the side of his manhood and then dragged it up the shaft and along the tip, all while keeping her eyes on him. His cock twitched in response and he let out a labored breath.

"That's what I thought," she teased with that same mischievous grin.

She opened her maw and closed her eyes as she lowered it over the head of his dick. She pressed her tongue to the side of his length and sucked in her cheeks before pulling back up. An audible pop could be heard as the last of his member escaped her lips. She grinned up at him before bringing her paws closer together around the base of his shaft and lowering her mouth over him again, this time bobbing up and down.

Liam moaned and put his hand on her head as she pleasured him. She didn't object, but seemed to enjoy it when he rubbed and petted her.

"Oh shit that's good," he groaned while she gave him head.

She came up off him, kissing the tip as her mouth broke free. A trail of her saliva connected it to him still.

"Glad you like it. Just let me know before you cum, okay? You can cum on my face or whatever but I'm not swallowing."

Liam nodded and gently rubbed the edge of her ear as she brought her warm, wet, soft maw back down on him.

She continued bobbing up and down, slurping on his manhood, occasionally looking up at him until a few minutes later he began to buck into her mouth.

"Ugh, I'm gonna…"

With a muffled voice, she approved, and suckled on the head of his cock until he cried out that he was cumming and at the key second pulled off him, letting several shots of his seed string across her face, ear, and eye. Liam panted as she licked up the last of his cum leaking from his tip.

"I lied,"she giggled. "I'll swallow this little bit. Just don't tell my girlfriend."

"What? Your girlfriend?" Liam was slightly dazed in the aftermath, and now even more confused.

"Yep, I'm more into girls." The glaceon said candidly as she attempted to wipe herself off with her paw. "Disappointed?"

"Honestly, a bit," he replied, helping her with a tissue he grabbed. "But then, why -"

"Just thought I'd help out where I could," There was that grin again. "For what it's worth, though, I think you're not that bad looking."

"Right. Thanks, I think," He chuckled weakly.

"So… Now that we've got some confirmation out of you about what you're into…" She winked deviously at him, "I could see if I can't get you set up with a date. If that's what you want, of course."

"Me? Umm… Maybe. Can I think about it? That's just a lot more to digest you know. I mean, that was hot and it's exciting but there's a lot to think about, and I think I might want to, but…"

"Liam, relax," she laughed. "Just let me know when you want to try it out. Or 'if,' I should say. Though I think that little display was pretty convincing. "

She got down from between his legs and began to walk toward the door.

"Why do you want to help me?" He asked, getting up and zipping up his pants before opening the door for her.

For a moment she looked a bit sad but quickly went back to being devious.

"Dunno. Like I said, you're cute. For a guy. You also seem to be really sweet. Keep it up."

Aleasha walked out but quickly turned back around.

"Oh and Liam, welcome to the house."


	6. Chapter 6: The Ice Melts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You may notice that I changed one of the character's names. It has been changed in the previous chapter, where it also appeared, as well.

Liam awoke curled up under his sheets and a thick, wool-lined comforter. He stretched out, kicking a foot out of the covers into the shockingly cold air of his room and then immediately retreated completely under the bedding, cursing under his breath. All the movement made him notice he was afflicted with the curse of morning wood. Yesterday's events then came back to him: The glaceon’s face, covered in his seed; her smirk, her eyes: striking, translucent turquoise, full of confidence and pride, smug with victory, were locked to his. His heart pounded in his chest.

“Fuck!” Liam exclaimed with a sharp whisper. He wanted to calm down. He should move on, maybe pretend it hadn't happened but that face… that fucking smirk, it stayed in his vision. 

He winced, knowing what he needed to do to calm down. A bitter chill flowed through his body as he rolled out of his bed onto the floor. He began shivering immediately but it had worked. The shock freed him from Aleasha’s grasp on his libido.

He crawled back in, made a mental note to keep his robe and pajamas close to his bed from now on, and then fished the remote control for the room’s heater up from off the wooden floor. Still under the covers, he searched for the familiar ‘+’ button, pressing it a few times until the beeping indicated the system had reached its highest temperature setting. He waited a few minutes for the room to warm up. 

Reasonably satisfied with the temperature, he finally felt able to crawl out of bed and get ready for the day. Today was Monday, the last day of the busy part of the week for him. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday were practically days off, where he was only expected to clean the bathhouse at the end of the day. He was sure that if he ever wanted a proper day off, all he would have to do is ask for it, but he had yet to find a reason to need an extra one or two hours off.

Liam found some pajamas that were strewn on the ground from the previous night and threw them on, before grabbing fresh clothes and heading into the bathroom. He finished his morning routine in short order and then headed to the inn’s lobby to see what chores Greg and Erika needed him to do. He was grateful for the opportunity he had been given and wanted to express that through being a reliable worker.

Erika looked up from reading the local newspaper behind the counter and greeted him with a warm smile as he arrived, which was echoed by Emma from atop a nearby cushion. He noticed her sister was missing from her usual spot - something he was honestly pretty relieved to see - but still odd. It wasn't often you saw one of the glaceon sisters without the other.

“Hey, guys. Just wanted to see if I can be of any help today,” Liam said with a smile.

“Hmm, not much going on today. Just need to head to town to stock up on some supplies. You could do that if you want. I'd certainly appreciate it and I'm sure Emma would show you around and help out. You can have the rest of the day off afterwards, assuming nothing unexpected comes up.”

Erika looked over to the glaceon for confirmation, who nodded cheerfully. “Sure! I wouldn't mind. When do you wanna go?”

“Are you okay with going now? Might as well get the chores done early so we can relax the rest of the day.”

She smiled and nodded. As Emma got up and bounded off towards the car, Erika leaned in and whispered to Liam. “Look, Emma's a sweetheart and loves to help. There are some little saddle bags in the back of the truck. If you'll put them on her and throw a few things in the bags while you're shopping, it'll make her day. The harness just straps on.”

Liam let himself imagine how that scenario would play out. The eeveelutions were all medium-sized predators, evolved to run and hunt, so it would make sense that she would need some sort of outlet for her energy. Having her walk around with the small added weight would probably be good for her and at at the very least, wouldn't hurt anything. He agreed to let her help and was given the keys to the inn’s SUV, a promise of harness instructions via text, and the shopping list and after heading outside and letting Emma into the car, headed into town.

Arriving at the store, Liam parked the SUV, let Emma out, and went around to the trunk to pull out her saddle bags. She came over and sat down next to him with a look of excitement on her face. Big, deep sapphire blue eyes shined up at him. He found his mind drifting to her sister again, and his cheeks flushed. He turned away a bit in a pitiful attempt to hide it. She looked curious, but left it. As he worked to strap the rig to her body, he chatted with her about it to change the air.

“So Erika tells me you like to help out with the shopping.”

“Mhmm,” she replied. “I can help you find everything we need to buy. I'm pretty sure I've been here enough that I've memorized where stuff is. And I can carry some of it too, if you need it.”

“Pretty helpful of you, Emma. I appreciate it. I’ll take you up on that offer.”

The glaceon beamed in response to the praise. Liam quickly figured out how to get the vest on Emma, with her instruction and a few stealthy checks of his phone, and the two entered the store.

“Is it really your first time, you know, being around pokémon, Liam?” She asked out of the blue as they made their way down the bathroom supplies aisle of the store.

“Well, aside from Chelsea, yes, pretty much. I guess I never really thought of her as different from a human though.”

“Because she looks like a human?” The glaceon asked him.

He furrowed his brow, having never considered that. “Hmm. I guess that's a good way to put it. She does have a lot of similar features to humans. Very human-like.”

“That's weird to think about,” Emma commented. “What's it like, a place with no pokémon?” 

“Boring,” he answered almost immediately, shocking himself when he realized it.

The glaceon looked up at him and smiled. “Glad we got you away from there then.”

“For sure. You know, I took Chelsea up on her challenge to broaden my horizons, see what pokémon were like, make some new friends.”

“With pokémon?”

“Yes,” he answered. “She was very insistent that I have an open mind about pokémon, you know, with forming relationships and stuff.”

“So that would make me your first real experience. No pressure at all on me then, making a good impression for pokémon everywhere,” she joked with a wink.

He grinned at her quip. “Well, you and your sister.”

“Oh crap, we're done for.” The glaceon gave him a look of mock defeat, which he chuckled at.

“Hey, I know. Have any plans for today? We could pick up some food and eat together back at the house. Want to hang out with me for a while?”

“Mhmm. Sounds nice,” she said with a genuine smile. It made his heart skip a beat with giddy excitement for the briefest of moments. He was starting to look forward to getting to know her. Maybe Chelsea was right. Maybe pokémon could make for good companions. Why did people view this sort of thing differently in other regions though? Was there something that made Sinnoh special? He thought it might be good to research when he got back home.

Back at the lodge, he handed the inn’s supplies off to Erika, keeping the bag of his own groceries under his arm. With Emma at his side, Liam made his way to his room, closed the door behind them, and sat the bag on the table in the middle of his room. He pulled out the cheap plastic cutting board, slow cooker, and chef's knife he had purchased at the store, and sliced the vegetables for the stew he was making for the two of them. Liam wanted to fix her something she wouldn't have had before; something from his hometown. It was a recipe passed down to him by his late grandmother and had also researched the diet of glaceon on his phone while at the store to make sure nothing in it would harm her. He added the veggies and precooked meat into the sauce that was already simmering in the slow cooker, put the lid on, and let it cook.

“By the way, where's your sister at, Em? I normally see her hanging around you.”

“It's usually the opposite- me following her around,” she said with a grin, “but I think she's having troubles with her girlfriend. She was pretty upset yesterday and today. I tried to comfort her and see if I could find out exactly what was wrong, you know, but she wanted to be alone and went out this morning.”

“Oh. I hope she's okay,” Liam replied, not really knowing what to say.

“Me too, but I didn't want to piss her off by following her around, you know. She was in a pretty bad mood.”

He could tell his words had made her feel guilty, which he hadn't meant to do, so he quickly tried to reassure her.

“Well, I'm sure she just needs her space; time to think things through, you know? It was probably just a little lover's spat. She'll be fine once they make up. So she didn't tell you any details?”

“Nope. That's pretty normal though. She keeps her love life to herself usually.”

“Her girlfriend's a human, right?” He asked.

“Yeah, why do you ask?”

He paused a moment before answering. “Have you ever dated a human, Emma?”

Her cheeks immediately flushed a light red as she over-thought his question.

“N-no… but I'm not against it!” She exclaimed with some determination.

Liam had noticed the excitement. He had purposefully gotten a rise out of her. He found it cute to see her get embarrassed.

He let it simmer in her mind a little bit as he delayed his explanation to serve them the stew, only continuing once they had begun eating.

“Where I'm from, I think it would be considered taboo...maybe even illegal.”

The glaceon scowled. “Huh...and do you agree with that?” She said, testing his motivations for the topic. 

From her body language, he gathered that she was very biased to one side of the argument and did not hide it well, clearly hoping he would side with her culture. He would have to be careful not to offend her.

“No, not at all.” He assured her with a smile. “It’s just something I’d never experienced or even really considered before moving here but multiple people touted the idea to me when I did end up coming here so it seemed like it might be an important part of the culture or something. It’s interesting to me.”

Her pleasant demeanour returned at that, and they both returned to their meal. He noticed her tail wagging as she attacked the stew with enthusiasm, something he found rather endearing. Afterwards, she complimented him on a delicious meal, a high-pitched, “Mmm!” and a tail wag followed.

About halfway through eating, he brought the topic back up. 

“I'm just curious is all. Like, why Sinnoh is so open-minded, I guess. Do you happen to know Em?”

She shook her small head side to side as she chewed, seemingly captivated by the taste.

“Nuh uh. This food is delicious though! Can we have this again sometime?!”

Liam smiled with pride, finding her behaviour to be adorable.

“Sure, anytime you want, as long as you come with me to the store to get the ingredients.”

 

Later that evening, as he sat alone in his room watching the sun get ready to set, Liam found himself bored. He pulled a blanket over his lap to get some of the chill in the room out. The wool felt soft against his skin and provided some warmth. He sighed a bit and laid back, staring at the ceiling and thinking back on his day spent with Emma. He smiled broadly, happy. He enjoyed her company. She was sweet, feminine, full of life. If he were to try jumping off the deep end and try Chelsea's suggestion to date, she'd be the first on his list. He daydreamed a bit about what it might be like, before again becoming curious as to the open-mindedness of his new home, Sinnoh. He sat up and looked around his room for his laptop, retrieving it from the wooden floor.

Sinnoh pokémon human relationships, he typed into the search engine in his browser. After pausing and contemplating for a moment, he added 'culture’ to the search term and hit enter. A list of search results came up and he sifted through them, finding a lot of links on Sinnohan culture and pokémon that were native to Sinnoh, but nothing dealing with what he was after.

As he brought up the next page of results, he heard an unexpected pitter patter coming up behind him. He turned to find Aleasha coming up to him. He was sure he had shut the door behind him and opened his mouth to complain when he noticed that she didn't look all that great: her eyes were noticeably bloodshot and her cheeks were puffy - like she had been crying. He was pretty sure he could see the stains her tears left on her face.

“H-hi,” was all he could think to say.

She returned the greeting, sitting down next to him and staring straight ahead sullenly. With a concerned tone, he asked her what was wrong. She didn't answer directly, instead claiming that he probably knew why, which was partially true. He guessed correctly that it was her relationship, confirmed with a nod as she sniffled slightly. Still in the same sitting position, she then turned her head toward him. She asked him if he agreed with her sister and family about the need for her to break up.

“Well, that depends. Do you love her still? Will keeping the relationship going at this point bring you happiness? What I mean is, is this a setback that the two of you can recover from our are you just avoiding loneliness and grasping at a collapsing foundation?”

She sat in quiet thought, her brow furrowing slightly as she processed the unexpected question. He waited patiently to hear her answer, smiling when she looked up at him, ready to help her further.

“That’s...genuinely good advice. I didn’t expect that. You know, you’ve got a good head on your shoulders for a pervert. What are you looking at, poképorn again?” She asked, the laptop screen easily within her view. 

He was immediately embarrassed at her comment.

“Is that what it looks like to you? Really…”

She looked away. “I'm a bit disappointed.”

“You are?” He asked in confusion.

The glaceon stood up and climbed up on his lap. She raised herself up, paws on his chest, small teal claws pressed lightly into his skin through the fabric of his shirt. Sea-green eyes staring searchingly into his brought his heart rate skyrocketing.

“I don't want to be lonely. I am lonely,” she decided to answer. Those devilish eyes now searched for an answer to an unasked question. He gave no resistance, showing her his unconscious desires. She leaned in and pressed her small lips to his briefly, breaking it to nuzzle his nose with her own, cold, wet, the color matching that of her lips. On instinct, he chased her lips, hoping to continue it. She smirked and pressed hers back to his. 

They both came back for more again and again, more aggressive and passionate each time until her muzzle naturally gave him room to move his tongue inside. His arms supported her back, keeping them easily in range of one another. They tasted each other, explored each other's tongue and teeth and any area they could reach, breaking only to catch their breaths in pants. Her taste flooded his mind. After what felt like forever, he felt her shift under him. Her back paw stepped gingerly on his manhood. She had felt him completely erect. After breaking their kiss, she smirked with that same devilish grin from yesterday.

“I knew it,” she said with a grin, tears forming in her eyes.

Liam panicked. He had made the girl cry.

“Wait, wait, wait, what? Why- why are you crying? You knew what?” His hands flailed a bit in gesture as he asked.

The glaceon looked away and sniffled. “That you're a pervert, of course, you weirdo,” she sneered, but it sounded more like an insincere distraction.

He was half taken aback and half confused but before he could retort, she continued, “But yeah, alright I'll fuck you.” She looked him in the eyes, with her own teal ones displaying her determination. “I want you to fuck me.”

His dick jumped in his pants at her admission and every bit of his instincts told him to take her that instant - his sensible mind, on the other hand, looked for excuses not to.

“What about your girlfriend?”

“Who cares,” Aleasha complained fiercely. “She doesn't care about me. That relationship is over. I want your dick.”

There was no possibility of doubt now and his lust was quickly winning the battle over his reason. He threw his hesitancy aside, leaning in quickly and passionately kissing her again.

“Good, she said, her eyes fiery as they broke apart. “I'll even let you be in charge this time. I just want to be filled. So take me.”

He managed to lift her up and carried the glaceon the short distance to his bed, exploring her muzzle as he did. Her body bounced lightly after he dropped her onto the mattress and she grinned at him, snorting with laughter and rolling from her side onto her back, displaying herself to him.

“I've never allowed someone to dom me. You should be thankful!”

Liam smiled but said nothing, choosing instead to take advantage of the situation. He pressed his palms to her thighs and held them open while he got on his knees and ran his tongue up her glistening slit.

“P-please...no tongue. I want your dick.”

“In a second. Relax.”

She quickly puffed her cheeks in protest. However, she quit complaining soon after.

“Fine. I did say I’d let you have control. You better make it worth it.”

He rolled his eyes at her capitulation and returned a quip at her. “I’m like, I don’t know, three times your size? Are you going to stop me?”

“You want to find out? I’ll fucking freeze your arms and legs in place and torture you until you call me master,” the glaceon retorted with a devilish grin. He had ignited her short temper and ego.

Depending on what her definition of ‘torture’ was, it sounded like it could be fun. He decided to just bury his head between her legs instead and let her have her ego victory. The feel of a warm, broad human tongue was undeniably familiar and pleasurable to her and she moaned in reflex.

Liam took the time to admire her. Healthy, shining coat of baby blue fur, well groomed and maintained; toned and firm body, she was about the same size as his torso. He wanted to explore her- feel her fur, rub her ears, take in her exotic body but it was pretty clear she was in the mood for one thing only. Another time, he thought to himself.

He put a finger up to his lips as passing guests could be heard talking in the hall and waited until they had walked several steps further down.

Satisfied with his teasing her, he smiled and grabbed his member, pressing it to her stomach, showing her how much she was about to take. The head of his member easily reached her bellybutton. He compared his girth to the size of her entrance. It was going to be a tight fit. His cock jumped at this thought.

“Oh fuck, that looks like it's going to feel good. Stuff me with it. Make it fucking fit,” she growled.

Her labia made lewd, wet sounds as he peeled them apart with two fingers and held her down by the stomach with the other hand. He pushed his hips forward and she gasped and squirmed as her entrance was spread and filled slowly and carefully. 

Her insides weren't hot like he was used to with other women. They were cool, close to room temperature, drawing out the body heat radiating from his own member. He felt her lower half shake in ecstasy as the folds of her pussy stretched to accommodate him until he had hilted himself inside her grip.

“Oh fuuuuuck, it's so hot, so good,” she purred.

He ran his fingers over her body, combing through her short silky fur, exposing her soft pink belly at its base and rubbing her mound where his manhood very slightly bulged outward.

He pulled his hips back and her sex protested, clinging onto and suckling his manhood with an almost vindictive grip. She winced in pleasure as he thrusted forward, spreading her pussy once more.

He repeated this process rhythmically, gaining speed for a short time. He tried to keep his mind off how fucking good it felt to stretch this girl, how slippery and yet tight she was but willpower alone was not enough. He forced himself to slow down and then pull himself out of her pleasure. Her leg twitched and she humped forward instinctually, wanting more.

His rod twitched in the air just over her entrance as he came near orgasm, but multiplying in his head, a trick he had mastered in his previous relationships, cooled him off enough that he was ready to go again. 

This time, however, he wanted to take her from behind. He enjoyed the primal energy of having her in a position that was also more natural for her. She could more easily match his rhythm with her body.

“Yes, fuck me with that big dick. Fuck me, fuck me!” she moaned while full of his manhood.

“Shut up,” he ordered, covering her muzzle firmly with his hand. He kept thrusting into her as the voices of several male guests could be heard passing by the room. The risk of discovery and his escalating forcefulness only seemed to heighten the thrill for her. It looked like it was melting her brain - He watched her struggling to keep quiet as she shuddered in orgasm. Her pussy squeezed around him, almost as if she was trying to push him out. He flexed his member and pushed into her resistance, causing her to further melt below him. A guttural but feminine, satisfied groan came from under his palm.

He waited until she had come down a bit and then slowly began building his speed back up, focusing on his pleasure alone and finding an angle that stimulated him. He found it by guiding her hips further upwards, pressing her upper body to the bed and draping himself over her. He wrapped his arms around her chest, briefly running his hand over her the multiple small nipples on her underside. 

She seemed to know he was ready to cum and clenched herself down around him, aiding him in building his orgasm. She moaned and cooed her encouragement for him to cum for her.

“If you're going to pull out, you can cu-” She sucked in air in surprise as she was interrupted by Liam’s firm bite on the nape of her neck. He had actually almost surprised himself as much as her with the display of dominance. He had only half decided on it, feeling a sudden urge to be raw and primal with her.

It worked - she shuddered, tensed and climaxed again from the unexpected dominance. Her vaginal spasms massaged him, adding to the pleasure of thrusting, and he very quickly reached his peak. His member swelled inside of her and he instinctively buried himself deep inside. He gasped when he could no longer hold back and unleashed a load of hot white seed into her womb, marking her with several more powerful shots of cum.

And as he laid there on top of her panting and sweating afterwards, now flaccid but still inside her, he knew in the back of his mind he could never really go back. He had fucked a pokémon, willingly, and...he had enjoyed every moment of it.

“Fuck,” he thought out loud at the realization.

“Yeah, you liked that big guy?” She teased in response. “I assume you're going to take responsibility for claiming me with your seed,” she continued.

Liam noticed her serious expression. “Wait, what?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thanks to my friend and editor, Cobalt Blue. As always, feel free to pm me or comment. I try to always respond to them.


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